Improved washing-machine



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. G. BROWN, OF LIMA, OHIO.

IMPROVED WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,212, dated July 14,1863.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, A. G. BROWN, of Lima, in the county of Allen andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWashinglvlachines and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, in partin section, of my improved washingmachine; and Fig. 2 a plan view ofthesame.

My invention consists in the general arrangement of the washing-tub andboard' in relation to a frame to support the same when the said frame isprovided with a seat for the operator and a mechanism driven by the footofthe operator for actuating the parts in motion; and my inventionfurther consists in combining` with a stationary wash-tub areciprocating washingboard, the arrangement being such as to operatesubstantially in the manner hereinafter set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Ishall now describe the construction of my improved washingmachine andstate the manner in which the same is or may be operated.

A in the accompanying drawings is a square wooden tub. It may be more orless wide, long, or deep, its size being such as that all its parts maybe within convenient reach of the operator. The tub is supported in aninclined position by a frame consisting ofposts B and sloping headtimbers C, braced Y in the usual manner, and is prevented from which ispartly open, forming a bevel-edged frame to the wash-board F. Thiswash-board is held snugly up against its frame in a position parallelwith the bottom of the tub by means of friction-rollers e, fast ontoeither side of the box. On these rollers rest the side rails, m, uponwhich the washboard is mounted. The wash-board, which is here shown tobe a corrugated metal plate, is mounted on a frame consisting of theside rails, m, and the front and rear cross-pieces, fn. n'. To themiddle ofthe latteris attached the one end of the connecting-rod s, itsother end being bent upwardly for its connection with the pin of thecrank W. The crank is mounted on an axle hung in the bracket m, andpassing through the side of the box or tub, where it is provided with apulley, p, and ily-wheel k. Rotary movement, imparted to thedriving-pulley P, is transmitted to the small pulley p by means of aband or cord common to both. The large pulley P is driven by theoperator in the following manner: In front of the machine, on twostandards, I, is arranged a seat, M, located relatively to the pedals LL and the washtub so that the operator may without straining either partof his body wash with his hands the clothes in the tub, while his feetare working the pedals. The pedals are hinged onto a hinge-board intherear of the machine, and are hung at about half their lengths to thecranks of a crankshaft, T, located underneath the tub. Upon thiscrank-shaft the drivingpulley is mounted. Rotary motion, therefore,imparted to the cranks-shaft by the feet of the operator, is transmittedto the crank, where it is converted into a reciprocating one, and thusproduces the vibratory motion of the wash-board.

The operation of the apparatus hereinbefore described is as followsWater and soap, &c., being put in the Wash-tub, the operator takes hisseat, and with his feet gives the wash-board arapid vibratory motion, asabove fully explained. He then simply applies the cloth upon the surfaceof the board, where, without any additional labor on his part, the clothwill be thoroughly washed. It will be understood that the cloth is notliable to be carried to and fro by the action of the board,

`the frame, with its bevel-edges, confining and keeping the clothsteady, while upon the surface exposed to the corrngations of the boardit is thoroughly rubbed and cleansed. It is needless here to explain theadvantages of this apparatus over those heretofore in use. I will simplyremark that a much greater quantity of cloth can be washed with the sameamount of labor.

Having thus fully described my invention, I shall state my claim asfollows:

I claim- The combination of a stationary washingtub with a reciprocatingwashing-board, under the arrangement and for operation substantially asherein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification beforetwo subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: ABNER G. BROWN.

RICHARD W. DIT'IE, DAVID D. DITTE.

